Category Archives: Theory

Background principles and frameworks that influence the practice of Brain Friendly Learning

Dale’s Cone of Learning figures debunked

Edgar Dale was a US educationist and professor of educations at Ohio State University. In 1946 he developed his most famous model, the cone of learning.Since then it has been quoted frequently, far and wide as the definitive evidence for how we retain information when delivered in various styles and mediums and has informed how to design training courses in specific ways. This is unfortunate, because the figures we associate with the model are meaningless. In this post, Paul explains why and encourages to be careful when sharing 'facts' with others.
Posted in Theory | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Watching the Brain Learn

Following a link a few months ago I found this facinating article written by R.Douglas Fields on Scientific American website called "Watching the brain learn" It seems that only half of the brain is "grey matter" The rest is made up of  relatively un-researched white matter which, as this article says, appears to be extremely influential [...]
Posted in Theory | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Recall: It’s a bit like opening a document

Our understanding of how the brain stores and retrieves data is still in the early stages of development. What is clear though, is that the result of learning (memory?) is stored in many places in the brain. Rather than being a problem, this provides us with many ways of accessing memory when we want to [...]
Posted in Theory | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Mozart effect debunked

For many years I have been aware of the generally held view that playing Baroque music, specifically Mozart, can have a beneficial impact on learning and retention. Some have even suggested playing Mozart to children can improve IQ and the common reason given for this is the “Mozart Effect”. On a quiet day in the office recently [...]
Posted in Theory | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

When the brain goes off piste part 2

This is the 2nd post exploring two powerful features of the human brain. Despite not knowing the answers, Paul expands on the questions: “When is it OK for the trainer to fill in gaps in the learner’s current knowledge” and “Can you train in a subject you know nothing about”?
Posted in Theory | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments